Summer Internship with Bajaj Auto Limited – Pranav from Vishwakarma Institute of Technology
Daily Winner for: – 6th August 2012
Name of the intern: – Pranav
Institute: – Vishwakarma Institute of Technology
Organization interned with: – Bajaj Auto Ltd.
“LISTEN UP, TURN IT UP AND ROCK IT OUT, PARTY ON, I WANNA HEAR YOU SCREAM AND SHOUT, THIS IS REAL, AS REAL AS IT GETS!” Papa Roach screamed into my ears on the morning of the 17th of June, 2011. Or for most of us, the night of 16th June 2011, because the time showed 4.30 am. To even think of turning up and rocking it out and screaming and shouting at that time is despicable and borderline criminal.
It was the middle of the summer vacation, and I sipped my first cup of coffee at nothing less than 9.30-10. I wrestled myself out of bed, answered nature’s calls and then civilization’s calls and got dressed for my first day at work- at Bajaj Auto Limited, Chakan. I was finally doing something after a month of doing nothing and microblogging about it. The bus picked me up at a place 5 minutes away from my home and off we drove toward the desolate, scenic landscapes of the industrial face of Chakan where lie the Mothers of Man’s Mean Machines. One such Mother is Bajaj Auto, Chakan. The buses (yes there are 21 more) halted outside the canteen and as I alighted I saw a sea of white T-shirts and blue trousers and black shoes. Feeling very conscious of being the blue shirt, faded jeans and Woodland shoes clad oddball, I proceeded, only to find my friend Abhishek, my fellow oddball in crime. And this happened on every workday, for the next four weeks, albeit my clothes changed.
We embarked on this journey to find enlightenment — technical engineering, to be specific! We roamed around the plant a la vagabonds, hands in pockets the first day, and a book in the hand for the next five days. Relentless as we were in roaming, we stopped not, but for food and for devouring 4 to 5 cups of coffee. As we walked, we looked at the technological wonders man had created and let the feeling of being amidst them sink in. We were encompassed in a metallic zone, amongst machines. Machines that were being made and machines that were making them. Everywhere you looked in a production shop, you saw conveyor belts and hooks, unmanned robotic vehicles and robots, innumerable tools and drives suspended freely to aid the hundreds of men manning the work stations, in their bid to produce two wheeler vehicles — Pulsars, Dukes, Ninjas.
When we were metal-sick and our legs hurt, we took refuge in the garden. There are gardens and lush lawns strewn around neatly in the premises. Waking up five hours earlier than normal, working in a 9 hour shift and returning 12 hours later at 5 pm, the first day felt like a week and the first week felt like a month. In our quest to find practical knowledge, we stumbled upon a few great minds, who helped us comprehend and effectively process the theory learnt in the confines of a classroom and study it in practice, thus giving it a pragmatic dimension. It was an extremely pleasurable privilege to study the assembly of the Kawasaki Ninja, a superbike that rules the wish list of nearly all youngsters. To study it was a pleasure and to ride it was exhilarating bliss. These blissful moments punctuated our four week long internship very often, amidst our projects.
We were assigned the projects of performing extensive study and providing a technical solution for some problems in the Bajaj Pulsar 150 and Pulsar 135 production line. What seemed extremely boring and unyielding in terms of knowledge soon metamorphosed to become an obsession and a treasure of mysteries when it came to engineering. What we never learnt in the engineering classroom now lay before us and the friendly line engineers, nearly the same age as us, gladly explained what needed to be done. It had now become a daily routine — waking up at 4.30 (now I didn’t have to wrestle myself to wake up), getting to work at 6.30 as opposed to looking for secluded spots to doze off in and not be spotted, greeting the now familiar engineers, cracking a joke or two. Lunch breaks now came in no time, and Jacqeline Fernandez welcomed us in irresistible grandiosity, (thanks to the giant TVs in the lunch hall!).
As we continued, time started to speed up after all. A day felt like a day, and the punctuations with chais, coffees and gardens lessened and eventually vanished. We dedicated all our brains and energies towards the projects and the patient elucidation of our project guides went a long way in their completion and implementation. Suddenly we realized we were three weeks through our internship. Where did all the time go? We took a leave of 3 days to stay home and write a report of our “accomplishments” at the company. As I typed each sentence in my project report, I realized how much I had gained in the three weeks I was there. I yearned to go back and learn more, but alas… two days were all that were left.
Studying theory practically and understanding more is certainly one part of what I learnt in the industry. But that part is humbled in comparison to what I learnt about the accomplishments of man. We are merely tiny tots and puppets reading off the Einsteins’, Newtons’, and James Watts’ playbooks and dancing to their tunes. They were the real engineers who forged a metallic future for the mankind, whose luxuries we now revel in. Man’s forte is his ability to use his brain for the greater good, and this is evident from today’s sophistication of technology and methodology in man’s work, whatever field it may be. As the final hour ended, we exchanged goodbyes with our month long colleagues and fellow interns, thanked everyone, and furiously clicked away some pictures, to be souvenirs and a reminder of the excellent and quality time Bajaj Auto gave us. As I stepped into Bus No. 4 and took my seat for the last time, I knew I’d miss the roaming around; I’d miss the machines; I’d miss the Pulsars, the Dukes and the Ninjas. As the bus wound its way through the lush locales of Chakan into the city, I knew my classroom back at VIT would now feel claustrophobic. But what the hell! It’s time I got my share of deserved sleep and junk food! Back to nothingness for the final phase of my holidays!
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